FOX 5 has learned that the city of Los Angeles has expressed interest in acquiring the Atlanta Falcons.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is warning city council members about business interests in Los Angeles who want to move the Falcons to the west coast. Team owner Arthur Blank shared that information with top city and state officials in their discussions about financing a new stadium in downtown Atlanta.

Two council members who met with Mayor Kasim Reed told FOX 5's Morse Diggs about private discussions the mayor hosted at City Hall.

Reed called in council members one at a time to tell them that the city needs to take a more aggressive lead in the public financing portion of the proposed open air stadium.

The Falcons would foot most of the $1-billion bill for the new stadium, but the state would have to come up with $300 million, most of which would come from an extension of a current hotel-motel tax. The move would require the state legislature to increase the World Congress Center's debt limit by $100 million.

Earlier, Gov. Nathan Deal said the climate at the state Capitol would not be favorable for the state to take the lead.

Council members also reported the mayor described Blank as being willing to increase the percentage the Falcons might pay to make the billion dollar deal possible.

The city of Los Angeles has been without an NFL franchise for almost two decades. In 1994, the Rams moved to St. Louis. A year later, the Raiders relocated to Oakland. Los Angeles remains the largest metropolitan area without pro football, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly wants a team in the city.

OUR GOOD DAY HOT TOPIC QUESTION: Is this serious interest from LA - or a bargaining chip for the Falcons? Post your comments on our FOX 5 Atlanta Facebook page, or tweet us @GoodDayAtlanta.

Gotta love dirty pool. So how many people think that Arthur was the best thing to happen to this franchise? I sincerely hope that the city doesn't budge, for two reasons. 1. The people of Atlanta shouldn't have to foot the bill for a new stadium. 2. The GWCC sucks. I don't think that Blank can get what he wants/needs unless they are out of the picture.

Move the team to the north side of I-285 and build the stadium that he wants, how he wants to build it using his own money so that he doesn't have to pay rental fees, and he can keep all of the profits for himself.

Perhaps the GWCC can entice GA Tech or Georgia to play their games at the dome. The Bulldogs might be able to sell out Ga'Dome.

You mean it has cost the fans $100 million. Because you know every dime that Blank spends will over time be replaced with the dimes out of the fans' pockets.

yeah, thats a good point. But think about it:no matter where they $$ comes from it always gets passed down. This is one of the amazing things people usually do not get: corporations and businesses dont pay taxes. They just past the additional cost to the consumer. every time. So IMO, if Blank ponied up ALL the funds, then he would own the right to charge whatever he pleases. The issue at hand is that were using taxpayer funds ( even though they try to mask it as a 'tourist tax') to pay for generally about 30% of the costs, without getting 30% of return.

What doesn't make sense to me is why Blank would continue to keep the Falcons downtown...why continue to deal with the mess that is Fulton County or the City of Atlanta? Is that worth the 30%? For me, not really, but Im not a wisened businessman like Arthur

What doesn't make sense to me is why Blank would continue to keep the Falcons downtown...why continue to deal with the mess that is Fulton County or the City of Atlanta? Is that worth the 30%? For me, not really, but Im not a wisened businessman like Arthur

3 guesses as to the reasons:

1) The Belief that it will be revitalization to the surrounding downtown area. Now that may be wrong or naive, but I'm certain there are those that believe in it.

2) It's easier. They don't have to buy/scout new properties and deal with all that red tape that comes with that, you just start to build on property that is already owned/controlled.

3) Uniqueness. I don't know how many NFL cities have downtown stadiums, but I imagine the number has shrunk over the years.

Look Blank is going to buy his new stadium, its already his in his mind, IMO.Anything he can get the city to pay is just good for him.

They've always talked about the old Gm Plant place on 285 as a great place with plenty of parking.....Don't think Blank is a genius just because he's rich. Ted Turner was also a rather unique thinker until he lost 11 billion to AOL- TIME WARNER.

I think Blanks planning that he can invest a Billion dollars here and get that back; is justnot really experiencing Atlanta with back-to -back bad teams.

Now that he's won a playoff game I don't know if he could comprehend going 7-9.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum